MONTGOMERY, Alabama -- In a ceremony here on the banks of the Alabama River, Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus said his decision to name a new Littoral Combat Ship the USS Montgomery is simply the repayment of an old debt.

Mabus is not a stranger to the state capital, as he lived in
the Cloverdale area from 1977 to 1978 while he clerked for then-U.S. Fifth Circuit Judge
John Godbold.

"I had an absolutely wonderful time here," Mabus said. "People
were friendly and nice and made me feel at home. It's taken me several decades,
but I've finally found a way to repay that hospitality."

Mabus has named two other ships in the past two days, the
USS Jackson and the USS Little Rock.

"So, three great Southern capitals will be represented on
the Navy fleet," Mabus said. "Absolutely no one doubts the patriotism that runs
through the South."

Those three ships, along with several others, will be built
at the Austal Shipyard in Mobile. Each of the ships will cost an average of $439
million.

Mabus said the cost is worth it since the ships have a service life of about 30 years and can be put into almost any situation.

"It is one of the most versatile and most valuable ships the
U.S. Navy has," Mabus said. "It's a big part of the future of our Navy and also
of our industrial base."

The Navy has a contract to buy 55 of the LCSs, which will
eventually make up more than 15 percent of its entire fleet.

The City of Montgomery will have a hand in the interior
design of the ship, which will boast memorabilia of the city.

Mabus was introduced by Mayor Todd Strange and flanked by officers and NCOs from the Maxwell-Gunter AFB Air Command and Staff College, Air War College and the Air Force Senior NCO Academy. Invited guests included local dignitaries attended the ceremony at Riverfront Amphitheater.

Once the USS Montgomery is built, which will be sometime
before 2015, it will be christened in Mobile and commissioned wherever the ship
will be stationed.

The LCS is the second ship to be named for the city. A destroyer
was commissioned in 1918 and later converted into a minelayer. It served in
World War II and was sold for scrap in 1946.

Mabus Montgomery visitSecretary of the Navy Ray Mabus visits Montgomery on Thursday, Oct. 6, 2011, to mark the naming of a littoral combat ship for Alabama's capital city. The USS Montgomery will be built will be built at Austal Shipyard in Mobile. It will be christened there as well, but will be commissioned wherever the ship will be stationed.